Jailed without Justice

Immigrants and their families carry all their human rights with them when they move.

But undocumented immigrants often live in the shadows and are at heightened risk of human rights violations. Amnesty International calls for immigration reform to ensure immigrants are treated with full respect for their human rights and human dignity.

Amnesty International's report, Jailed without Justice, exposes the immigrant detention system in the United States as broken and unnecessarily costly.

Jailed without Justice

Immigrants and their families carry all their human rights with them when they move.

But undocumented immigrants often live in the shadows and are at heightened risk of human rights violations. Amnesty International calls for immigration reform to ensure immigrants are treated with full respect for their human rights and human dignity.

Amnesty International's report, Jailed without Justice, exposes the immigrant detention system in the United States as broken and unnecessarily costly.

Over 30,000 immigrants are in detention on any given day in the U.S. This is triple the average number detained just ten years ago. Detained immigrants include asylum seekers, torture survivors, victims of human trafficking, longtime lawful permanent residents, and the parents of U.S. citizen children. Immigrants can be detained for months or years without any meaningful judicial review despite international human rights standards requiring such review.

It costs about $95 per day to detain someone, while effective alternatives only cost $12 per day. These more affordable alternatives are often not considered.

S. 744 was initially introduced in April, I was cautiously optimistic that this piece of legislation would finally begin to address many of the human rights violations in the immigration enforcement,...

President Obama met with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador today to discuss the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border involving the mass influx of unaccompanied migrant children...

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USA: Texas- Release Mother & Child Seeking Asylum (UA 58/15)

Celia Ismalej and her 18-month-old son fled Guatemala and sought protection in the US. They have been held in immigration detention for more than eight months despite being eligible for release. They are suffering physically and emotionally as a result of their continued detention, which is in violation of international law and standards.